1- Scientific context and project objectives

The project involves equipping the French National Institute for Agricultural Research/Auvergne University mixed research unit 1019 “Human Nutrition Unit” at Clermont-Ferrand Theix with an information system to identify the metabolites present in biological samples. This unit is already well equipped to carry out highly effective analyses for research on metabolism in the field of nutrition. This equipment includes various mass spectrometers and statistical and computing tools for acquiring, processing and using data. The intention is to use this equipment to further knowledge on the action of macro- and micronutrients in food so as to better understand their impact on health. For this, profiles of hundreds and even thousands of biological samples will be collected using mass spectrometry. This information will then go through a pre-established processing chain before being fully retrieved to identify the characteristic markers of a given physiological state or nutritional incidents and pinpoint which metabolites correspond to these markers, as well as the metabolic pathways in which they participate. To create a platform and hence develop this activity, the unit’s information system must now be improved to enable its members and partners of different research programmes to access and make more effective use of all of the data generated.

2- Project description

Data is acquired using mass spectrometers that generate vast data files (4-8 Go). Once acquired, the target data is extracted (potential biomarkers), filtered, analysed and stored in an owned database. This process is based on various protocols described by precise sets of parameters that implement statistical methods and inter-database screening-linkage tools. The project involves developing several modules including a database of processing protocols and parameters linked to a document server, databases on metabolites and their spectral characteristics, a data management platform providing a data distribution and retrieval service from bases, as well as various data analysis and processing services providing the interface with the user. Five modules will be developed:

• A data management platform directing data to the correct storage base.
• The databases on metabolites.
• A document server for files (4-8Go) obtained from the mass spectrometry.
• A web platform for exploring databases.
• The software tools for the bioinformatics processing of mass spectrometry data.

3- Expected results

This information system will be developed as part of a policy to optimise the analytical capacities of the metabolism, which will thus add to the analytical system (mass spectrometry platform) recently set up in the Unit. This system will enable the unit members as well as partner manufacturers and academics to make full use of the services offered by this platform. It will provide fresh knowledge on the biological effects of nutrients in our food and thereby improve the quality of food and health of the population. The information system is designed to acquire and process more data more quickly and to foster the distribution and dissemination of data acquired more effectively. This platform, unique in Auvergne, will furthermore make it easier to share skills and set up a major cluster in the field of the metabolism and nutrition-related metabonome applications. More generally, in the context of point 7.2 of the document describing the ex programme E-nnovegne and more precisely the creation of a biomedical resource centre, this programme is part of the more extensive medical research platform of the university hospital centre, the Jean Perrin Centre, the Blaise Pascal and Auvergne Universities and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), comprising Inserm Units 384 and 484, the Inserm Clinical Investigation Centre (CIC), the Clinical Pharmacology Centre (CPC), the Pain Treatment and Assessment Centre (CETD), the Cancéropole, the National Reference Centre for Leucodystrophy Prevention, the protist biology laboratory, the small animal imagery platform and INRA’s metabolome platform. The purpose is to standardise and professionalise data exchange between the various research bodies, whether they be public or private.

LifeGrid, the regional information system